Tuesday night I attended the second ever PDX Digital PM meetup session at Instrument. It was beyond refreshing to meet with other project managers / producers and hear that others are facing similar operational challenges that candidly, we deal with daily at Planet Argon. During the meetup we broke into small groups and discussed various topics such as preferred tools, process, and client expectations.

The small group format provided us with the opportunity to share our experiences and work with each other through some issues that we face. Garnering such rich information from peers in the industry is beyond valuable, especially for someone who works with a small team.

One of the most valuable pieces of information that I carried away with me last night concerns a scheduling tool called 'Merlin'. Listening to the Instrument’s producers rave about this tool while at the same time voice concerns about other tools I myself have tried and immediately discarded in the past, I knew I had to try it. So far, I might just be sold on it.

Special thanks goes to Adam Edgerton, of Metal Toad Media, who took the time to organize these meetups. Prior to this, I was unable to find anything quite like this in Portland. Last night’s turnout clearly indicates that this is a much desired gathering of the minds. I'm greatly looking forward to the next one on April 8th!

An outsider may venture to assume that Robby Russell, the founder and chief evangelist at Planet Argon spends his every waking moment helping foster creativity among his team whilst ensuring that he helps make things happen in the studio. While that most definitely is the case, there is much more to him than just that.

While those of of us who get the opportunity to work with him on a daily basis know and understand his drive to be an active participant in the local community, his philanthropic passions are easily overshadowed by his extensive Ruby on Rails resume / endeavors.

I'd suggest you take a look at the latest interview that Omakase conducted with Robby. This interview sheds some light on Robby and his true philanthropic passions.